Being a parent is sweet, but dealing with a fussy baby can be exhausting. Many babies have trouble staying awake during the day and refuse to sleep at night. The quality of a baby's sleep is one of the most important concerns for mothers. It not only affects the baby's health and development but also directly impacts the mother's rest. Let's take a look at how to soothe a baby to sleep.
1. Establish a day-night routine for the baby.
During the day, maintain a normal living environment with open curtains, regular movement, and conversation. There is no need to create a quiet sleep environment. At night, create a conducive sleep environment for the baby by turning off lights and keeping it appropriately quiet. Helping the baby adapt to a day-night routine is not only convenient for adults but also beneficial for the baby's growth.
2. Bathing helps with sleep.
Give the baby a warm bath before bedtime. After the bath, play some soft and soothing music, dim the lights in the room, provide gentle massages, and then give the baby some milk to create a sleep-inducing environment.
3. Avoid waking the baby unnecessarily.
If the baby is not awake, avoid forcefully waking them up for feeding. Waking the baby up when their sleep quality is already good can make them unhappy. They may not be able to consume a lot of milk, and it may also affect their mood, making it difficult for them to fall back asleep quickly.
4. Cultivate a habit of going to bed early.
Start cultivating a habit of early bedtime for the baby at around 8 weeks old (between 18-20 o'clock). The baby should be put to bed earlier than the time they show signs of tiredness. Arranging the baby's bedtime earlier in the evening can prevent them from waking up at night or waking up too early the next day.
5. Avoid excessive fatigue.
Maintain short awake periods, avoid excessive fatigue, and grasp the timing of sleep. During the baby's first month, the awake time should not exceed 30 minutes. For a 2-month-old baby, the awake time should not exceed 1 hour. For a 3-month-old baby, the awake time should be around 1.5 hours. Observe the baby's appearance and activity level in the late afternoon and soothe them to sleep 20-30 minutes before their usual bedtime.
Between 12-16 weeks, you can guide and cultivate a daytime nap mechanism. Therefore, babies younger than 3 months may not have a regular daytime nap. Pay attention to signs of drowsiness and soothe the baby to sleep. This will help them sleep more peacefully.
What are some soothing recipes for better sleep?
Recipe 1: Jujube and bamboo pith porridge
First, let's recommend a recipe for expectant mothers: jujube and bamboo pith porridge. During pregnancy, if you have poor appetite, porridge is a good choice. This porridge also has a calming and focusing effect.
Ingredients: 20g jujube kernels, 20g bamboo pith, 6g lampwick grass, 200g glutinous rice.
Directions: Wrap the jujube kernels, bamboo pith, and lampwick grass in clean gauze and put them in a pot. Cook them with glutinous rice to make porridge. Remove the gauze sachet and the porridge is ready to be eaten.
Recipe 2: Lettuce and pork slices
The second recipe we recommend is lettuce and pork slices. Lettuce has a calming effect, and pork is a food that pregnant women need to supplement, making it very suitable for expectant mothers to eat.
Ingredients: 300g lettuce, 150g lean pork, a little soy sauce and cooking wine, salt, vinegar, egg white, starch, starch water, scallion segments, ginger slices as needed.
Directions:
1. Peel and wash the lettuce, then slice it thinly. Wash the lean pork and slice it, then put it in a bowl.
2. Add salt, soy sauce, cooking wine, and egg white to the bowl and stir well.
3. Add an appropriate amount of starch and mix well. Heat oil in a pan until it is 80% hot. Stir-fry the scallion segments and ginger slices until fragrant.
4. Then add the lean pork slices and stir-fry them. Next, add the lettuce, cooking wine, soy sauce, vinegar, and salt, and continue stir-frying.
5. When it is almost cooked, add a little starch water to thicken the sauce. Stir-fry evenly and then remove from heat.
Recipe 3: Goji leaf and celery porridge
The third recipe is goji leaf and celery porridge. This porridge also has a calming and focusing effect. In addition, goji berries have the benefits of nourishing the liver and improving vision, making it very suitable for expectant mothers.
Ingredients: 75g glutinous rice, 30g goji leaves, 60g celery, 2g salt.
Directions: Wash and chop the fresh celery. Wash the goji leaves and chop them. Put the glutinous rice in a sand pot, add an appropriate amount of water, and cook it into porridge. Then add the celery, goji leaves, and cook for a moment. Add salt to taste.
